Friday, April 21, 2006

[Ox-Op owner Tom] Hazelmyer takes pains to point out that he's only shutting down the brick-and-mortar entity, while expanding the gallery's online presence and launching a new line of art toys. Likewise, he hopes to continue the relationship with SooVac that commenced with part one of "Juxtapoz," which opened in SooVac's Lyndale Avenue space.

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Ox-Op filled an unoccupied niche in these parts, mixing sold-out exhibitions by the high-profile lowbrow likes of Tiki-god Shag and creature king Gary Baseman with shows by lesser-known locals. (Minneapolis's own Charles S. Anderson graced the Ox-Op walls with the image of a deer taking a dump.)

We plan on focusing our energy on several big projects that have been in the works, and throwing a monster blowout like we just did with the Juxtapoz 2006 Group Show seemed the perfect bookend to this chapter of the OX-OP entity as it transforms. The show being split with Soovac was no coincidence, as they’ll be hosting several OX-OP events in the coming year. Also we want to focus on new artists, and to be honest, that becomes all but impossible with a bricks and mortar space, and simple math. Also getting artists that have quickly become more established, back to the Twin Cities as they now get flooded with offers from NYC, Tokyo, Paris, etc., has become a far more massive challenge than in years past. We hope to start hosting some online shows for some emerging talent and some old faves as well. More on that soon –so stay tuned!